Vancouver, BC

By Culta Skaro

After a narrow loss to the Philly Roller Girls Friday night in the 2016 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs Vancouver, the Terminal City Rollergirls of Vancouver, BC, Canada came determined to win in their matchup against Arizona Roller Derby of Phoenix, AZ, USA. After edging out a narrow lead early on in the matchup, Terminal was able to run away with a 231-95 win by racking up points in a forceful second half.

Photo by Bob Ayers

Both teams put out powerful walls that were able to lock down opposing jammers for quite some time. Many jams early on in the bout didn’t see a jammer break through either wall until more than 30 seconds in.

Though Terminal took an early lead, Arizona was able to chip away the differential during the first half, often keeping the score within a 17-20 point margin. But penalty trouble for jammers and blockers alike began to put AZRD at a significant disadvantage, which the fast-footed Terminal jammers and forceful blocking walls were able to capitalize on.

Terminal first began to drive up the score when AZRD jammer Choke Ya Latte was sent to the box in jam two and Luz Chaos was penalized for a track cut in jam four. With stellar offense by the Terminal blockers during these power jams, the team quickly mounted a 27-3 lead. But a high block called on Terminal’s Drago gave AZRD a chance to shrink that deficient in jam 10.

Arizona had several opportunities to exploit power jams in their favor throughout the game, but tenacious recycling by Terminal’s blockers kept their opponents from gaining much ground.

Photo by James McDaniel

In the second half, Terminal began to take an even more commanding lead. Mulan Bruise had the first 20-point jam of the game in jam four of the period, lapping Arizona’s Erica d’Entremont as she fought against powerhouse blockers. Luz Chaos scored an impressive grand slam in jam eight, but was then sent off for blocking with the head. Two Arizona blockers were also sent to the box, giving Terminal’s Scarlett Bloodbath the chance to expand their lead to 149-87.

AZRD’s score would stay at 87 for the next eight jams as they sent out short packs to defend against successive power jams. Arizona sent jammers to the box six times between jams eight through 12, allowing Terminal to add dozens of unanswered points until the game ended at 231-95.

Terminal will go on to play Stockholm Roller Derby (#8) Saturday at 8 p.m. The outcome of that game will determine who will play for 5th and who will play for 7th on Sunday. Arizona will face the Naptown Roller Girls (#6) Sunday at 10 a.m. for 9th place.

Final Score

Terminal City Rollergirls (#5) 231
Arizona Roller Derby (#10) 95